COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind an impressive first half performance, the Ursinus College women's basketball team collected a 76-56 victory over Immaculata in their 2023-24 season opener from Helfferich Hall.
 
 
With the victory, it is the second consecutive victory to open the season over the Mighty Macs and fourth win out of the last five meetings. Junior Chinwe Irondi recorded a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds, which marks as her third consecutive game with 20 or more points dating back to last season. Senior Natalie Mehl tallied 18 points and tied a career-high of five assists, while sophomore Madison Smith collected her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists. Immaculata's Reese Mullins paced the Mighty Macs offense with 15 points and nine rebounds.
 
 
After the Mighty Macs jumped on the board first with a free throw, Ursinus responded with five consecutive points behind two Mehl free throws and a fast-break three-pointer from senior Alison Lisanti. With 4:15 remaining in the opening quarter, the Bears stretched their lead to nine behind four consecutive points from Smith. After an offensive rebound and an open layup, Smith stole a Mighty Macs pass and converted a fastbreak layup to give Ursinus a 13-5 lead. Later in the quarter, senior guard Sarah DiLello found first-year Emma Afflerbach for a layup and her first collegiate basket. Each team traded baskets over the final two minutes of the period as Ursinus held a 21-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 

Mehl recorded five of the first seven points of the second stanza for the Bears increasing the Ursinus lead to 13 at the 8:08-mark. After converting on two free throws, Mehl received a screen at the top of the key and her catch-and-shoot shot found the back of the net to give Ursinus a 28-15 lead. Behind a three-pointer from senior Kelly Grant and a layup from Smith, Ursinus stretched their lead to 18 before a bucket from Immaculata at the 4:14-mark halted the Bears run. Later in the period, sophomore Ava Possenti and Mehl recorded back-to-back three-pointers to give Ursinus a 43-26 lead at the halftime break.

 
Irondi and Smith opened with back-to-back baskets to increase the Bears lead to 21 at the 8:09-mark of the third quarter. Irondi would go on to score the next five points for Ursinus, but a 13-5 run from Immaculata would cut the Bears lead to 13 at the end of the third period. Ursinus opened the final stanza with a 6-2 run to increase their lead 62-46 at the 8:03-mark. After a Mighty Macs layup, the Bears used a 6-0 run behind baskets from Mehl and Irondi leading to an Immaculata timeout. The Bears would increase their lead to 20 before a layup from junior Charlotte DiLello iced the game leading to the 76-56 non-conference victory.
 
 
The Bears shot 48.4% (30-of-62) from the field, 27.8% (5-of-18) from three-point range, and 78.6% (11-of-14 from the charity stripe. Immaculata shot 31.7% (20-of-63) from the field and 30.8% from three-point range. Ursinus forced a total of 15 turnovers while recording 14 points off the Mighty Macs mistakes and tallying 46 points in the paint.
 
  
The Bears will return to action on Monday, November 13^th as they host Penn State Brandywine at 7:30 p.m. from Helfferich Hall.